Let Them Come

Salem Brahimi

Year

2015

Runtime

95 min

Language

French, Arabic

Country

Algeria, France

Principal Cast

Amazigh Kateb, Rachida Brakni

Let Them Come is an unsettling drama set in
the Algeria of the late 1980s, more than two
decades after the nation gained its independence,
when signs of bitter disenchantment
and oncoming societal collapse were too
alarming to ignore. The most organized and
defiant dissent came from conservative
Islamist movements whose radical elements
had been indoctrinated by Afghanistan's
Taliban. Soon the tensions would escalate
into a conflict lasting nearly a decade, known
by Algerians as the "Years of Terrorism."

At the hospital bedside of his mother
(Farida Saboundji), Noureddine (Amazigh
Kateb) complies with her nagging wish and
agrees to marry the lovely Yasmina (Rachida
Brakni), the neighbour who was graciously
watching over her during her illness. Emotionally
numb, Noureddine seems more
impelled by a drive to atone for being a disappointing
son than by any love for Yasmina.

The marriage is mired in disenchantment
as soon as it begins, but he and his family will
have far greater problems to contend with.
When armed Islamist militants retaliate
against the army's crackdown by staging acts
of terror against the civilian population, the
everyday life of Algerians is overwhelmed by
the sweep of hate, violence, and fear.

Faithfully adapted from Arezki Mellal's
novel, Let Them Come is a gripping meditation
on how people defend their souls from
the ravaging onslaught of barbarity. With
riveting performances from the cast, particularly
Kateb and Brakni, documentarian
Salem Brahimi's first narrative feature is a
feat of filmmaking charged with the true grit
of lived experience.

CONTEMPORARY WORLD SPEAKERSJanice Gross Stein, founding Director of the Munk School of Global Affairs and member of the Order of Canada, is an internationally renowned expert on conflict management. She will speak about Let Them Come (Maintenant ils peuvent venir) in a Q&A session following the second screening of the film. Special thanks to the University of Toronto’s Munk School of Global Affairs.